{"id":333833,"date":"2025-07-05T17:05:51","date_gmt":"2025-07-05T16:05:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=333833"},"modified":"2025-09-18T14:36:54","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T13:36:54","slug":"whos-protecting-tehran-nyts-pattern-of-discrediting-irans-resistance-movement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/demonization-articles-analyses\/whos-protecting-tehran-nyts-pattern-of-discrediting-irans-resistance-movement\/","title":{"rendered":"Who\u2019s Protecting Tehran? NYT\u2019s Pattern of Discrediting Iran\u2019s Resistance Movement"},"content":{"rendered":"
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AI-generated illustration of a propaganda-producing machine, symbolizing state-controlled information systems<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In his July 4 Substack post, Ali Safavi, a member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) Foreign Affairs Committee, delivers a scathing critique of The New York Times<\/em> for what he calls a long-standing pattern of discrediting Iran\u2019s democratic opposition in moments of regime vulnerability. The article, titled \u201cBylines Missing, Truth Missing: The NYT\u2019s Distorted Iran Coverage,\u201d<\/em> zeroes in on the Times\u2019 June 25 piece<\/a>, \u201cAmid Attacks, Iran\u2019s Exiled Opposition Remained Divided. Who Are They?\u201d<\/em> which Safavi argues was crafted to undermine the MEK\u2014the most organized and capable opposition to the clerical dictatorship.<\/p>\n

Safavi draws historical parallels to similar interventions by the Times in 2003, 2011, and 2020, accusing the paper of omitting critical facts, quoting regime agents as credible sources, and refusing to publish rebuttals or corrections\u2014even after irrefutable confessions emerged<\/a>. He points to a former \u201cstar witness\u201d featured by the Times who later admitted to being on the Iranian regime\u2019s payroll and fabricating claims.<\/p>\n

This, Safavi warns, is not journalism but a political service to a regime guilty of crimes against humanity. He challenges the integrity of the Times’ editorial approach, suggesting its reporting has, wittingly or not, echoed Tehran\u2019s disinformation line at the expense of Iran\u2019s pro-democracy movement.<\/p>\n

This commentary was originally published on Ali Safavi\u2019s Substack on July 4, 2025, and is republished here below:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The Regime\u2019s Pen: How #Iran<\/a>\u2019s Clerical Dictatorship Uses Friendly #Journalists<\/a> as Propaganda Assetshttps:\/\/t.co\/TH8BUosNpJ<\/a><\/p>\n

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) March 25, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n